THE FLIP SIDE

Lots to do during weekend getaway to Fifty-Six

NWA Democrat-Gazette/FLIP PUTTHOFF Fifty-Six is a fine town to visit at a slow pace on a bicycle. Fifty-Six is in Stone County near Mountain View.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/FLIP PUTTHOFF Fifty-Six is a fine town to visit at a slow pace on a bicycle. Fifty-Six is in Stone County near Mountain View.

Any town with a street called Roasting Ear Road and a name like Fifty-Six just hollers out for a visit.

So visit we did, hopping on our bikes to explore the town of Fifty-Six, population 173, near Mountain View in Stone County.

The trip is a getaway most autumns for our Sunday morning bicycling group. A leisurely ride through Fifty-Six is only part of the weekend fun. We hike the North Sylamore Creek Trail, perhaps the prettiest hiking trail in Arkansas. There's trout fishing close by in the White River. The area is a fine destination on two wheels or four.

Blanchard Springs Caverns is one of most spectacular show caves in the United States. It's worth the three-hour drive just to see that. The welcome sign at the city limits reads, "Fifty-Six Arkansas, home of Blanchard Springs Caverns."

A cozy streamside cabin at Sylamore Creek Camp, in the smaller town of Allison, was the perfect base camp for our activities. Biking was on the agenda, so the second day of our visit found us pedaling west along Arkansas 14, headed toward Fifty-Six.

The riding is fairly flat once one reaches the top of a long, steep hill west of Allison. We dealt with it by hauling our bikes by car and starting the ride at the top of the hill.

After a meandering mosey through the countryside, we pedaled into Fifty-Six, riding past the gas station, the old school building and U.S. Forest work center. Visitors can't miss Roasting Ear Road. It's right by the sign for the Fifty-Six industrial park. We headed south, past a sawmill that we figured is the industrial park.

Roasting Ear Road is a cycling paradise we discovered on a previous visit. Its smooth pavement twists four miles or so through forest and past some cute farmsteads. We met one car the whole way. The road eventually drops down into a deep, deep hollow. We rode to the bottom last trip. This time we turned around to avoid the lung-buster climb and headed back to Fifty-Six.

In the center of town, a picnic table outside city hall was a great spot for a break. We munched a snack, then stepped in to check out Fifty-Six city hall. We're tickled we did.

Inside, the clerk gave us a friendly welcome. The city hall has two desks. On the left desk is a hand-lettered sign that says "Fifty-Six water department." A bowl of leftover Halloween candy on the Water Department desk beckoned visitors to help themselves.

On a shelf are 30 or more team trophies and photos from when there was a school at Fifty-Six.

"We used to have some pretty darned good teams," the clerk said.

The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says Fifty-Six was first named Newcomb when the settlement applied for a post office in 1918. The name was rejected and the name Fifty-Six substituted because the school district was No. 56.

Our bicycle ride along Arkansas 14 and Roasting Ear Road was a joy. We also went by car to Gunner Pool Recreation Area and campground, three gravel-road miles north of Arkansas 14 in the Ozark National Forest. One of the best swimming holes in the Ozarks is at Gunner Pool. The water in North Sylamore Creek is some of the clearest around and so refreshing in the summer.

The campground is also a trailhead for the North Sylamore Creek Trail, which runs 13 gorgeous miles through the Ozark National Forest.

Flip Putthoff may be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 11/24/2015

Upcoming Events